


a place where we don't have to feel unknown

by orphan_account



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Maya Ducard centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 01:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20381776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: How the Batfamily unofficially adopts Maya Ducard.





	a place where we don't have to feel unknown

It’s the middle of the night when Maya gets the phone call. Well maybe a little past the middle of the night, she’d lost track a while ago. She should have gone to sleep earlier, but she’d found a lead on her mom and really thought it would pan out this time. 

Maya is in the middle of hacking into the security cameras in a museum in France when her phone rings. She sees Damian’s name flash across the screen.

“Hello,” Maya answers cautiously. Damian never calls so late at night.

“Maya,” Damian says and pauses, “I have been… injured.”

“What? How bad is it? Are you dying?” Maya is panicking a little. She can’t lose someone else. Especially not her little brother.

“No, however Father has insisted that I not go out as Robin for the time being.”

Maya can see how that would upset him. However, she can’t see why Damian is calling to tell her about it.

“I’m confused. Did you just call me to vent?”

“No. I wanted to say that it’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other, and I was wondering…” Damian doesn’t finish his sentence.

“You want to see me.” Maya completes his thought.

“...yes.”

“Well sure.” She’s not that far from Gotham at the moment. And truth be told, Maya misses Damian too. “Do you want me to grab Suren as well?”

“No he’s- he’s trying to move on. I don’t want him to get dragged back into all of this.”

And there it is. Damian is way too noble for his own good. He had even tried to stay away from Maya for a bit, believing he was somehow stopping her from living a normal life. Maya had quickly shut him down with the facts. She’s never been normal in her entire life, and she isn’t about to start now.

“Alright, I’ll be there tomorrow morning,” A thought suddenly occurs to Maya and she grins, “I can’t wait to meet your family.”

Damian groans and Maya cackles. This is going to be fun.

* * *

Maya holds her breath as she knocks on the door to Wayne Manor. She’s kind of (read: very) nervous. The only things she knows about Damian’s family are what he’s told her and what she’s read online. So Maya’s not exactly sure what to expect.

The door opens and Maya sees an old man standing there. Everything about him radiates “grandpa”. This must be Alfred Pennyworth.

“May I help you Miss-?”

“I’m Maya. I’m a friend of Damian’s.”

“Oh, I see. Master Damian has told me about you. Please come in.”

Maya carefully walks into the Manor and looks around. It’s huge, and fancy, and Maya is terrified of breaking something.

“Soooooo,” Maya tries to break the silence, “What’s Damian said about me?”

“He said that you were brave and kind. That you’ve worked hard to overcome your past. And that you’re a wonderful older sister.”

Maya blushes because wow. She’s never really had anyone talk about her like that before. Well she has faint memories of her mom hugging her and calling her “sunshine.” But her father mostly just called her “failure” and “mistake.”

Before Maya can reply, Damian comes down the stairs. And okay, Maya can see why his dad said no Robin for a while. Damian is a mess. His arm is in a cast, and the entire left side of his face is bruised. Additionally, he’s wincing with every step he takes.

“Wow dude, what happened to you?” Maya asks. Alfred seems to have disappeared off… somewhere. Maya hadn’t noticed. Maybe he really is a vampire like Damian thinks.

“Joker.” Damian leaves it at that. Maya winces. From what she’s heard about the Joker, that guy is bad news.

“So, I’m going to be here for a few days. I was thinking the first thing we should do is go see a movie. Shrek 6 seems interesting. I heard they cast John Mulaney to play-.”

“Where are you staying?” Damian interrupts Maya.

“An old safehouse of my dad’s. I found a futon there, so that’s pretty cool.”

“Absolutely not.” Damian says. Maya is kind of annoyed.

“What? Is my futon not good enough for your judgement. I’ll have you know that it only had three spiderwebs on it. So there.”

“You’re staying at Wayne Manor.”

Maya should probably argue, she doesn’t need Damian’s charity. But she really doesn’t want to stay in that safehouse. It’s not even the dust or the roaches, her dad trained her to survive worse conditions. It’s the fact that being there reminds her of her past, of her dad way more than she’s comfortable with.

“Fine. Now let’s go see the movie. Actually wait, first I must see my boy.”

“Your boy?”

“Goliath. I think I’ve figured out a new frequency to calm him down.” Maya had spent way more time than she should have on it, but she’s proud of the results.

“Alright. And I might as well introduce you to my other pets.”

“Other pets?” Damian had mentioned nothing about having any animals besides Goliath.

“To the Batcave.” Damian yells and walks off, still wincing. 

“Okay no.” Maya picks him up because she can. And because she’s seen Damian cover up enough injuries to know that if he’s actually showing it, it must hurt a lot.

“Let me down.” Maya can tell Damian isn’t really that angry. He must have missed her as much as she missed him.

“Nope. Your leg is obviously messed up. Now which way is the Batcave?”

Damian grumbles but directs her there anyways. He doesn’t try to escape from Maya’s hold.

* * *

There is a person in the Batcave. Maya can’t see much of him from the back, but she recognizes the iconic wings. Red Robin. Tim Drake.

Damian spots Tim at the same time and demands to be let down. Maya reluctantly obliges.

Tim turns around when they’re a few feet away from him. His eyes widen in surprise.

“Damian, why is there a random girl in the Batcave?”

Damian scowls. “Tt. This is Maya, she’s my friend. She knows of all our secret identities.”

“Are you serious? B is going to be so mad at you. You can’t just tell strangers our identities.”

Maya is getting tired of being talked about like she’s not there. “He didn’t tell me anything. I figured it out on my own.” Well maybe not, but it wouldn’t be good to clue anyone into the fact that her father is- was a criminal.

“How-.”

“This is useless, Drake. Please tell me where Batcow is.” Damian cuts in. So he wasn’t joking about the cow. Weird.

“She’s off on the other end of the cave. Probably scaring the bats.”

Damian goes to get his cow, leaving Maya and Tim to stare at each other.

“How did you meet Damian?” Tim asks. And yeah, Maya really does not want to go into that.

“He helped me out with something.” There, that’s simple. Nothing about assassination attempts and manipulative parents.

“And what exactly was that?” Of course Tim had to ask for more details. Time to put all of Maya’s stretching the truth skills to the test.

“My dad, he wasn’t exactly… the best. Damian helped me realize that I didn’t have to be what my dad said. That I could be my own person.” Well that was way closer to the truth than Maya intended. Darn it.

Something in Tim’s face changes. His expression goes from suspicious to… kind. Maya doesn’t understand why.

“How old are you?” Tim asks. Weird change of subject but okay.

“I’m- I’ll be 15 next month.” Maya doesn’t actually know her own age, her dad didn’t believe in celebrating birthdays, but from her research, she’s figured out her approximate age.

“That’s a lot to deal with. Especially at your age. If you ever need to talk, I’m here.” And with that confusing statement, Tim leaves.

Why would Maya need to talk? It wasn’t like her life was  _ bad _ . Damian and Suren definitely had it worse. What Maya had gone through was nothing in comparison. 

At that moment, Damian walks back in with a cow. And a cat. And a dog. And Goliath! Maya’s thoughts are forgotten.

* * *

After they see Shrek 6, they return back to the Manor to get Maya’s room set up. She doesn’t have much stuff, a habit retained from when she had to constantly be invisible. The room is way bigger than Maya needs. However, to Maya’s disappointment, there is no futon to be found.

Maya spends the rest of the day hanging out with Damian. They get kicked out of the zoo, go to an art museum, and eat a lot of ice cream. It’s the most fun Maya’s had in a while. She tries to ignore the voice in her head that whispers that it won’t last.

That night, Maya can’t sleep. She tries every method she can think of, but rest continues to elude her. After an hour, Maya decides to get something to eat.

Maya tiptoes down the corridor, stopping in front of Damian’s door.  _ He’s still here,  _ she tells herself,  _ he’s not going anywhere. Not like-. _

In the kitchen, there’s someone hiding in the shadows. Maya probably wouldn’t notice if she was anybody else, but she’s spent a lot of time trying not to be seen.

“I know you’re there.” Maya calls out.

The shadows melt into a person, and suddenly Cassandra Cain is standing there.

“Hello.” Cass says.

“Hi.” Maya feels shy for some reason.

“You are Damian’s friend.” 

“Yeah, I am.”

“Good, he needs friends.” Cass smiles and Maya does too.

Cass turns to leave but Maya calls out “Wait.” 

Because Maya’s read all of the files on Cassandra Cain. How she arrived in Gotham just before No Man’s Land. How she was Batgirl. How she is now Black Bat. But most importantly, Maya’s seen the files about David Cain.

“Your dad, he raised you to be an assassin. How do- how do you deal with that?”

Cass looks at her suspiciously for a second before determining there’s nothing malicious about the question.

“I save people. I try to atone for what I’ve done.”

“But when you realized what your dad was making you do, you left. You’re a good person. I knew my dad was wrong but I didn’t leave. Does that- does it make me a bad person?” The words come spilling out of Maya’s mouth. And now it’s too late.

But instead of Cass confirming Maya’s worries, the woman just wraps her in a hug. Maya closes her eyes tight so the tears won’t fall.

After a few minutes, Cass gently pulls away.

“Open your eyes.” Maya does. 

Cass looks angry, but Maya can tell the anger isn’t directed at her. 

“You are here now. You are good.” Cass’ tone brooks no argument.

Maya can’t help it, she falls apart again. She’s not entirely clear on what happens after that. Maya must fall asleep at some point because the next day, she finds herself tucked into bed. A Black Bat plushie under her arm.

* * *

The next day, Damian goes to the doctor. Maya has to stay back at the Manor. She decides to use her time to check out some leads on her mom. The museum footage hadn’t gotten her any results, but something else might.

As time passes and nothing substantial pops up, Maya gets a little frustrated. She throws her computer against the wall and regrets it immediately.

A few seconds later, Maya’s door opens. A teenage boy is standing there. Duke Thomas.

“Hey, you’re Maya right?”

Maya nods.

“I heard a noise. What’s up?” Duke asks.

Maya doesn’t want to explain. She just wants to sit alone and sulk because she’s been looking for months and has gotten  _ nowhere _ . But she can’t give up. She just can’t.

“Well, if you don’t want to talk, I guess I will.” And Duke starts telling a story. Something about his parents taking him to a circus. Which isn’t fair, since Maya’s parents never took her anywhere except gathering intel on targets.

However, as Duke talks, some of the tension that Maya’s feeling loosens. 

“I was looking for my mom,” Maya interrupts Duke, “I was looking for her, but I can’t find her anywhere.”

“I know how that feels,” Duke says, “I won’t tell you to stop looking, I know I wouldn’t even listen to that advice. But I will tell you that you should be prepared to find something you don’t want to.”   
  


A shadow crosses over Duke’s face. But only for a second. Then he offers a hand to Maya.

“I’m starving. Do you want to go to Batburger with me?”

It’s obviously an attempt to distract Maya, but she doesn’t care. At least someone’s  _ here _ .

“Sure.” Maya says and Duke smiles.

* * *

Because Gotham is Gotham, Maya somehow ends up kidnapped by Two-Face. With Damian benched, she’s honestly not sure whether anyone will come for her. She tries to make a plan and comes up empty every time. She left her suit back at the Manor and her sonics with it.

Two-Face is monologuing about something to do with a bank robbery. Maya honestly doesn’t even see why he captured her. It’s not like she had anything to do with the robbery.

“And you see? I would’ve succeeded, but Morgan Ducard betrayed me at the last moment.

Oh. This isn’t even about her. Great. If it’s about a grudge against her dad, then the chances of Maya getting hurt just went up like 80%.

Maya starts struggling against the ropes. She’s really panicking now. Maya doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t want to die here.

Two-Face is coming closer and Maya doesn’t know what to do. She screams and shuts her eyes. Suddenly there’s a crashing sound and fighting. Then Maya feels the ropes around her loosen. She opens her eyes, and standing there is the Red Hood. Jason Todd.

“You okay kid?” Jason asks.

“I’m- I’m fine,” Maya says, “Why’d you come to get me?”   
  


“The kid sent out a distress call to everyone when he noticed you were missing. I decided to investigate.”

“But  _ why _ ?” Jason doesn’t know her. He has no reason to care about her wellbeing.

“Listen, I’m not the best at dealing with emotions, but I can tell you have a lot of trauma.”

“I don’t-”

“You do. And the thing is, from what I’ve heard, you’re a good kid. You deserve to have people who’ll help you out when you’re in trouble.” 

And with that, the conversation is over. However, the warm feeling in Maya’s chest doesn’t fade for a long time.

* * *

The only one of Damian’s siblings that Maya purposefully seeks out is Dick Grayson. Maya’s heard a lot about him from Damian, and she wants to see how much is true.

So one day, when Damian is off trying to convince his dad to let him go on patrol, Maya knocks on Dick’s door.

“Come in.” A voice calls out.

Maya carefully opens the door. Dick is sitting on his bed, reading a book. He looks up when she enters and smiles.

“Hey kiddo. I’ve been meaning to talk with you.”

“About what?” Maya asks.

“Well, I want to thank you.”

“Thank me?” Maya doesn’t see what she should be thanked for.

“Yeah, you helped Damian a lot while I was… gone.”

“Oh. I don’t need thanks for that. He helped me a lot too. He’s like an annoying little brother to me.”

“Either way, I’m glad he has you in his life.” Maya blushes. Dick turns back to his book.

“Do you like reading?” He asks.

“I don’t know. I mean… my dad never let me read anything for fun.” Maya replies. 

Dick closes his book and stands up. He walks over to her.

“Here,” He says and hands her the book, “I think you’d like this.”

Maya looks down at the book and sees the title,  _ The Adventures of Robin Hood _ . 

“I can’t-.”

“It’s a gift. Just try reading it. If you don’t like it, then you can bring it right back.”

“Alright, if you’re sure.”

Later that day, Maya reads through the book and gets absolutely lost in the story of brave heroes fighting tyrannous kings. She finishes the book and then rereads it. Over and over and over.

That night, Maya sleeps easily, dreaming of happy endings.

* * *

The day Maya leaves, she finally sees Bruce Wayne. She’s met him before, and she doubts he’s forgotten it, but they haven’t talked at all the entire time she’s spent in the manor.

Maya has already said her goodbyes to everyone, and she’s about to leave when Bruce appears in front of her.

“You’re leaving.” He says in a gruff tone.

“Yep,” Maya says, “Thanks for letting me stay in your house.”

“Of course. I have something for you.”

“Really?” Maya can’t really imagine what Bruce Wayne could possibly want to give  _ her _ . Or why.

“Yes. Damian mentioned that you legally don’t exist. So, I decided to change that.” And then Bruce hands her a bunch of papers.

There’s a birth certificate, a passport, even a diploma from some tiny college. With these… with these, Maya won’t have to hide anymore. She can live in the world instead of just watching it pass by. 

“Thank you!” Maya launches herself at Bruce and wraps him in a hug. Suddenly she realizes that he might not want to be hugged. But before she can pull away, Bruce’s arms tighten and he’s hugging her back.

They stay like that for a few minutes. Finally, Maya separates herself.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Wayne. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“You don’t have to Maya, and I hope you’ll return here soon.”

Maya thinks of Damian’s enthusiasm, of Alfred’s compliments, Tim’s offer to talk, the Black Bat plushie, Duke’s quiet support, Jason’s promise of someone in her corner, the book carefully tucked in her bag, and the papers she just received. She thinks of all these things and one word comes to mind.  _ Family _ .

“You know, Mr. Wayne. I think I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> I love Maya so much, and she deserves better to be stuck in character limbo


End file.
